Individuals have little opportunity to get elected to Parliament under the label of the government party... unless they are in good standing with the Prime Minister and pledged to be cooperative.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
The absence of political personalities in the government will help rather than hinder a solid base of support for the government in parliament and in the political parties because it will remove one ground for disagreement.
No-one is forced to stand for Parliament; no-one is compelled to become a minister. If you take on those roles, which are great privileges, you also take on big responsibilities.
It is simply the view, and a view I think shared by most members of the party, that it is very difficult to have a leader that does not command the support of the parliamentary party.
People innately have lots of solutions. It sounds like an obvious thing, but everyone thinks that they can be prime minister; everyone thinks that they can do a better job.
A Parliament is nothing less than a big meeting of more or less idle people.
And under our system, much like you see in the U.K., of course, a party working with another party can form a coalition and govern the country.
Normally, people give up parliament because they want to do more business or spend more time with family. My wife said 'why don't you say you're giving up to devote more time to politics?'. And it is what I have done.
A smaller-size party and parliamentary membership does not necessarily equate to lesser demands; if anything, the opposite can be the case.
People have become disillusioned with Parliament, and that threatens democracy.
Under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act, it is possible for other parties to change the direction of a government without bringing a government down.